World

KYIV — Ukraine vowed to counter destabilising Russian influence over the country's political and economic spheres Sunday in the wake of British accusations that Moscow is looking to install a Kremlin-friendly president in Kyiv.

The UK alleged this weekend it had information Moscow was "looking to install a pro-Russian leader" in Ukraine and accused several former politicians in Kyiv of habouring ties with Russian intelligence.

The claims are adding to tensions between Russia and the West over European security, with a recent bout of failed negotiations bringing little relief over a build-up of Russian troops around Ukraine.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff, said the revelations were part and parcel of Russia's approach towards Ukraine and said Kyiv would push back.

"Our state will continue its policy of dismantling any oligarchic or political structures that could be working to destabilise Ukraine" or "aid" Russia, he said in written comments to AFP.

Podolyak said the Kremlin had for some time followed a formula of selecting individuals in business or politics and then using those people to "promote Russia's interests".

"This British information clearly follows along in this logical chain," he added.

London said it had seen evidence that several former Ukrainian politicians had maintained links with Russian intelligence services, and that former MP Yevgen Murayev was being considered as a potential leader.

Some of those in contact with Russian intelligence officers were "currently involved in the planning for an attack on Ukraine", the Foreign Office said in a statement, though did not release details of the evidence.

'New leadership' needed 

The United States said the revelations of the plot were "deeply concerning". Moscow dismissed them as "disinformation", and urged London to "stop spreading nonsense".

Murayev, the former MP allegedly touted as a possible leader by Russia, on Sunday wrote on social media that ex-Soviet Ukraine was in need of sweeping political reforms and a new head of state.

"The Ukrainian people need rule of law, peace, sound and pragmatic economic and social policies, and new political leaders," he wrote.

Murayev lost his seat in parliament when his party failed to win 5 per cent of the vote in 2019 elections. He is understood to be the owner of a television channel that was closed last year on allegations it was airing pro-Russia propaganda.

Concerns in Ukraine have been building as tens of thousands of Russian troops mass on Ukraine’s border, along with an arsenal of tanks, fighting vehicles, artillery and missiles.

Current fears of a Russian invasion stem from Moscow’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and the capture by pro-Kremlin separatists of two self-proclaimed breakaway republics in Ukraine’s east.

More than 13,000 people have died in the fighting between government forces and the pro-Russian rebels.

Pope Francis said Sunday he was following “with concern” the rising tensions and called for a day of prayer for peace next week.

That appeal came on the back of a week of talks between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Washington’s allies in Ukraine and then Berlin, before a meeting Friday in Geneva with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

There was no breakthrough but the US has said it will respond in writing to sweeping security demands put forward by Russia in the end of last year.

STOCKHOLM — Thousands of protesters demonstrated in Sweden's two biggest cities on Saturday against the use of vaccine passes, in marches that unfolded calmly after police had warned of possible clashes.

Security police Sapo had expressed concern that neo-Nazi groups and opponents could face off at the demonstration in Stockholm.

Around 9,000 people marched through the streets of the capital Stockholm to the Sergels Torg square chanting "No to Vaccine Passes, Yes to Freedom", in a protest organised by a group calling itself the Freedom Movement.

One of the marchers, 30-year-old Julia Johansson, said vaccine passes "discriminate against a lot of people".

"We have to be able to decide ourselves what we want to do with our own bodies," she told AFP.

Aida Begovic, 35, agreed, saying they "force people to get medical procedures they don't want".

"No matter how much you say [vaccination] isn't a requirement, it is if you lose rights in society over it."

The Scandinavian country introduced vaccine passes on December 1.

They have been mandatory since January 12 for indoor events of more than 50 people, as the country battles an unprecedented surge of infections with around 40,000 cases reported per day in the past week.

More than 83 per cent of Swedes over the age of 12 are fully vaccinated.

Some of the demonstrators wore the markings of violent extremist groups such as the neo-Nazi group NMR, and covered their faces to prevent identification.

Some also set off red flares that lit the sky a smoky red, but police said no clashes were reported.

A number of vaccination centres in the city had closed early on Saturday as a precaution.

In Sweden’s second-biggest city Gothenburg, another demonstration gathered around 1,500 people.

Sweden made headlines in the early days of the pandemic when it, unlike most other countries, did not introduce any form of lockdown or school closures.

Instead, it adopted a softer approach, recommending social distancing, homeworking and only limited use of facemasks.

It did however ban visits to elderly care homes, limit public gatherings and restrict opening hours at bars and restaurants.

Sweden’s death toll, around 15,600 of the 10.3 million population,  is around the European average, but is significantly higher than in neighbouring Norway, Finland and Denmark.

NUKU’ALOFA — Tongans said they were determined to rebuild their battered homeland in the wake of last week’s devastating eruption and tsunami as a massive clean up continued on Saturday in the Pacific kingdom.

The powerful eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano last Saturday triggered a tsunami that crashed across the Tongan archipelago, affecting more than 80 per cent of the population, according to the United Nations.

Tongan journalist Marian Kupu said most locals are adamant on remaining as the huge recovery efforts began.

“We want to stay here in our country because this is what identifies us as Tongans. We want to rebuild our country and unite and move on,” Kupu told AFP.

Toxic ash polluted drinking water supplies, crops were destroyed and at least two villages have been completely wiped out.

An estimated one cubic kilometre of material blasted from the volcano, and experts expect Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai to remain active “for weeks to months”.

“Tonga’s people are going to need sustained support responding to a disaster of this scale,” Sione Hufanga, the United Nations Coordination Specialist in Tonga said.

“The people of Tonga are still overwhelmed with the magnitude of the disaster.”

Tonga ranks third on the World Risk Report, which measures countries on their susceptibility to experiencing natural disasters.

But, despite the risk, Kupu said most Tongans wanted to stay.

“It’s this feeling of pride that we have here, that we don’t want to leave the country we were born and raised in,” she said.

One survivor from the island of Atata, which was flattened by the tsunami, told her he would return to the island even after the devastation, she added.

“He explained he wished to go back because his parents are buried there, he was born there and his life is there.”

“He wished the government or anybody would help rebuild his little island so he could go back.”

‘Unprecedented disaster’ 

The New Zealand and Australian defence forces have started delivering urgent relief supplies, particularly water, to Tonga but an Australian minister said fears of unleashing a “COVID crisis” were complicating aid efforts.

Tonga is COVID-free and has strict border control policies, requiring contactless delivery of aid and a three week quarantine period for any aid personnel who wish to enter the country.

“It’s a very, very difficult time for the people of Tonga,” Australia’s International Development Minister Zed Seselja said, but added: “We respect absolutely the desire of the Tongan government not to add a COVID crisis to a humanitarian crisis caused by a tsunami.”

Meanwhile, a third New Zealand navy vessel carrying helicopters, water, tarpaulins, milk powder and engineering equipment is on its way to Tonga and is expected to arrive early next week.

Defence Minister Peeni Henare said all deliveries will be contactless in accordance with Tonga’s COVID-19 protocols.

The Tongan government has called the dual eruption-tsunami “an unprecedented disaster” and declared a nearly one-month national emergency.

The eruption broke a vital undersea communications cable linking Tonga with the rest of the world, and it is expected to be at least a month before all communication services are fully restored.

In the meantime partial communications has been established, although mobile network provider Digicel said the high number of calls to the island was producing delays.



BELGRADE — Serbian authorities have abandoned plans to build a controversial lithium mine, the prime minister said on Thursday, following weeks of protests against the project set to be built by Rio Tinto.

The surprise U-turn from the government comes months ahead of likely national elections with President Aleksandar Vucic's administration looking to shore up support from voters following a series of major protests that gained traction across large swaths of the Balkan country.

"We have fulfilled all the demands from the environmental protests and have put an end to Rio Tinto in the Republic of Serbia," said premier Ana Brnabic during a televised address.

"Everything about the Jadar project is finished," she added, referring to the mine that was set to be built in western Serbia.

The mining project appeared to tap into smouldering anger against Vucic's government, which has been lambasted by critics and activists for allegedly turning a blind-eye to the potential environmental harm that could by unleashed by the projects of foreign firms.

For weeks, thousands have swarmed key roads across Serbia to protest against the government's handling of the lithium project.

Vast deposits of lithium -- a key component for electric car batteries -- are found around the western town of Loznica, where the Anglo-Australian company had bought up land and was awaiting a final green light from the state to begin mining.

Rio Tinto first discovered lithium reserves in the Loznica region in 2004.

The company had intended to invest $2.4 billion (2.12 billion euros) in the project.

Critics of the project, however, accused Vucic's government of paving the way for illegal land appropriations and brushing aside environmental concerns.

Earlier this week, the Prime Minister Brnabic said the government was prepared to "fight against" any potential lawsuit from Rio Tinto linked to their cancellation of the project.

On Thursday, the premier added that Serbian officials had "never signed contracts" with Rio Tinto.

Following Thursday's announcement, activists called on opponents of the mine to double down until the government banned future lithium and borate mining projects in the country


"Just one more step! We're close!" tweeted protest leader Savo Manojlovic.

The hunt for lithium has set off a "white gold rush" across the globe as major corporations, including automakers, scramble to secure sufficient supplies to meet their ambitious goals to transition to greener fuel sources and technology.

Rio Tinto has been mired in controversy in recent years. A public backlash forced the firm's chief executive and several senior officials to resign last year after the company destroyed a sacred indigenous site in Australia in 2020.

Critics of the mine also highlighted the Vucic government's poor record with regulating its industrial sector, saying the administration has shrouded many projects backed international investors in secrecy.


WASHINGTON — The White House launched a charm offensive, complete with a Tom Hanks video, to mark Joe Biden's first year as president Thursday, but dire new polls and a major congressional setback told another story.

Biden, who was sworn in to replace Donald Trump at noon last January 20, marked the day by meeting with top cabinet members in charge of rolling out his signature infrastructure spending plan, a $1.2 trillion splurge he got passed in November with rare bipartisan support.

"Our nation has never fully made this kind of investment," Biden said, celebrating one of his biggest wins of last year -- and a project that should keep delivering good news as bridges, roads and other large public works roll out.

The previous evening, the 79-year-old Democrat held an epic press conference lasting an hour and 52 minutes, longer even than the famously rambling events Trump used to stage.

Defending himself on his handling of the Covid pandemic and roaring inflation, Biden said he'd got "a lot done" in the face of unprecedented difficulties for a president.

"He was having a good time," Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.

Despite the cheerful messaging, Biden begins his second year as president facing a slew of bad news, including failure in the Senate late Wednesday of his cherished push for election law reforms -- something he has said is needed to safeguard US democracy from Trump supporters' attempts at fixing the vote.

The polls also seem to be getting only worse. According to new NBC and AP-NORC polls, 54 per cent and 56 per cent of Americans respectively disapprove of Biden's performance.

The numbers point ominously to what most analysts expect to be a heavy defeat for Democratic legislators in November midterm elections, leading to Republicans taking control of Congress.

Asked about his sliding popularity, which is now in the area that Trump consistently inhabited, Biden just told the press conference Wednesday: "I don't believe the polls."

Tom Hanks reassures America 

Biden likes to laugh off doomsayers, telling them to share his trademark sunny outlook.

And his aides and allies did their best to spread the mood on Thursday.

In a two minute video, Hollywood legend Hanks recounted in his gravelly voice how the country's economy is bouncing back from the pandemic. The video featured clips of ordinary people, like a UPS delivery driver declaring "the fear is gone."

"We are strong, we are courageous, we are resilient, we are America -- the land of the brave," Hanks said in the video, which ended with Biden pronouncing: "I've never been more optimistic about America's future."

Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on CBS, ABC and NBC networks, while Chief of Staff Ron Klain spoke on MSNBC. A slew of cabinet secretaries gave interviews to media more off the beaten track, including women's magazines and rural outlets, the White House said.

Psaki went one step further, making a relatively rare appearance on Fox News, whose major stars outside of the news operation include conspiracy theory spreading, right-wing host Tucker Carlson.

As for the second year, Biden himself says one of his main goals is simply to escape the Washington bubble -- to "get out" and "connect with people."

KABUL — The Taliban's prime minister called Wednesday on Muslim nations to be the first to officially recognise their government, as aid-dependent Afghanistan faces economic collapse.

No country has yet recognised the Taliban, with most watching to see how the hardline Islamists, notorious for human rights abuses during their first stint in power, restrict freedoms.

Although the group has promised a softer rule in line with their interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, women are largely excluded from government employment and secondary schools for girls are mostly shuttered.

"I call on Muslim countries to take the lead and recognise us officially. Then I hope we will be able to develop quickly," Mohammad Hassan Akhund told a conference in Kabul called to address the country's massive economic woes.

"We don't want it for the officials. We want it for our public," he said, adding that the Taliban had fulfilled all necessary conditions by restoring peace and security.

Afghanistan is in the grip of a humanitarian disaster, worsened by the Taliban takeover in August that prompted Western countries to freeze international aid and access to billions of dollars worth of assets held abroad.

The country was almost entirely dependent on foreign aid under the previous US-backed government, but jobs have dried up and most civil servants haven't been paid for months.

On Wednesday, the International Labour Organisation said half a million Afghans lost their jobs in the third quarter of 2021, and this was expected to rise to 900,000 by the middle of this year — with women disproportionately affected.

With poverty deepening and a drought devastating farming in many areas, the United Nations has warned that half the 38 million population faces food shortages.

The UN Security Council last month unanimously adopted a US resolution to allow some aid to reach desperate Afghans without violating international sanctions.

But there are growing calls from rights groups and aid organisations for the West to release more funds — particularly in the middle of a harsh winter.

“Our situation still depends on the Americans. It will only get better if they decide to stop the sanctions,” said Mohammad Moktar Nasseri, a former police officer who now sells vegetables at a Kabul market.

‘Not bending 

to conditions’ 

Donors face the delicate task of channelling aid without propping up the regime, with many members of what the Taliban call their interim government, including Akhund, on an international sanctions list.

The Taliban veteran was a close associate and political adviser to Mullah Omar, the founder of the movement and its first supreme leader.

The protection of women’s rights and an inclusive government that reflects Afghanistan’s ethnic groups are among the most important issues for the international community.

But Taliban Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi told Wednesday’s conference that the government “would not sacrifice the independence of the country’s economy by bending to the conditions of donors”.

Last month a meeting of the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) declined to formally recognise the government, and the new regime’s foreign minister was excluded from the official photograph taken during the event.

But the OIC did pledge to work with the United Nations to try to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in frozen Afghan assets, while urging Taliban rulers to abide by international obligations regarding the rights of women.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were the only nations to recognise the first Taliban government after they came to power in 1996 following a civil war.

WASHINGTON — The United States condemned Monday's drone strike on Abu Dhabi claimed by Yemen's Houthis, and vowed to hold the rebels accountable for the "terrorist attack" that left three people dead.

"The Houthis have claimed responsibility for this attack, and we will work with the UAE and international partners to hold them accountable," National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a White House statement.

"Our commitment to the security of the UAE is unwavering and we stand beside our Emirati partners against all threats to their territory."

The United Arab Emirates, of which Abu Dhabi is the capital, is part of a Riyadh-led military coalition that supports Yemen's government against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have repeatedly targeted Saudi Arabia with cross-border strikes.

The State Department echoed the condemnation, according to a statement from spokesman Ned Price.

"We express our condolences to the families of these victims and to the people of the UAE," he said.

"We reiterate our unwavering commitment to the security of the UAE and stand united with our Emirati partner."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke later Monday with Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Price said in a second statement.

"Secretary Blinken condemned the terrorist attacks today, which killed and wounded innocent civilians," Price said.

"The Secretary expressed his solidarity with the Emirati people and voiced his condolences for the loss of life."

The conflict in Yemen, which has left 377,000 people dead, has intensified in recent weeks. Millions of people have fled their homes, with many on the brink of famine, in what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

WELLINGTON — A volcano that exploded in the Pacific island nation of Tonga has almost disappeared from view, new images revealed Tuesday, with swathes of the country smothered in grey dust or damaged by a tsunami.

The volcano erupted 30 kilometres into the air on Saturday and deposited ash, gas and acid rain across a large area of the Pacific.

In the tsunami that followed, waves in Tonga rose up to 15 metres, its government said in a statement.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said three people were killed, citing Tonga’s government.

Three days after the eruption, the outside world is still struggling to understand the scale of the disaster using patchy satellite phone connections, surveillance flights and satellite images.

While power and local phone systems have been partially restored, international communications remain severed and the Internet is down.

Satellite images released by Maxar Technologies on Tuesday showed that where most of the volcanic structure stood above sea level a few days ago, there is now just open sea.

Only two relatively small volcanic islands were still visible above sea level after the eruption.

New Zealand released aerial images taken from a surveillance flight the previous day, revealing a tree-lined coast transformed from green to grey by the volcanic fallout.

Wrecked buildings were visible on the foreshore alongside others that appeared intact.

Volcanic ash blanketed island fields, images from an Australian Defence Force P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft showed.

Shipping containers had been knocked over like dominoes at a port on the main island.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a statement on Tuesday that its liaison officer in Tonga, Dr Yutaro Setoya, was “channelling communication between UN agencies and the Tongan government”.

“With international phone lines and Internet connectivity still down, Dr Setoya’s satellite phone is one of the few ways to get information,” it said.

The officer has “literally been standing outside from dawn until long into the night for the past few days to ensure that the phone can reach the satellite signal”, said the WHO’s health cluster coordinator for the Pacific, Sean Casey.

The UN health agency said around 100 houses had been damaged, with 50 destroyed on Tonga’s main island of Tongatapu.

Between five and 10 centimetres of ash and dust had fallen on Tongatapu, the OCHA said.

The WHO said the ash and dust were “raising concerns of air pollution and potential contamination of food & water supplies”.

“The gov’t has advised the public to remain indoors, use masks if going out & to drink bottled water due to the ashfall,” it tweeted.

Distress beacon 

Australia’s HMAS Adelaide and New Zealand’s HMNZS Wellington and HMNZS Aotearoa were ordered to be ready for a possible aid request from Tonga, which lies three to five days’ sailing away.

The Red Cross said it was sending 2,516 water containers.

New Zealand has allocated NZ$1 million ($680,000) in humanitarian assistance and the United States has pledged $100,000.

France, which has territories in the South Pacific, pledged to help the people of Tonga’s “most urgent needs”.

The OCHA said a signal had been detected from a distress beacon on a low-lying island, Mango.

The UN agency said surveillance flights had confirmed “substantial property damage” on Mango, home to about 30 people, and another island, Fonoi.

Images released by the United Nations Satellite Centre showed the impact of the disaster on the island of Nomuka, one of the closest to the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano.

The satellite centre said that of 104 structures analysed in a cloud-free area, 41 structures were damaged.

Tonga’s airport was working to remove volcanic ash from the capital’s runway. Australia said the ash must be cleared before it can land a C-130 military plane with aid.

One of the two confirmed dead was Angela Glover, a 50-year-old who ran a stray animals charity and was reported missing by her husband after the tsunami hit.

“Earlier today my family was sadly informed that the body of my sister Angela has been found,” her brother Nick Eleini said after being given the news by the husband, James Glover.

“James was able to cling on to a tree for quite a long time, but Angela was unable to do so and was washed away with the dogs,” he told The Guardian newspaper.

A 65-year-old woman from Mango and 49-year-old man from Nomuka Island were also killed

Communications cut 

Even when relief efforts get under way, they may be complicated by COVID-19 entry restrictions.

The eruption — one of the largest in decades — was recorded around the world and heard as far away as Alaska, triggering a tsunami that flooded Pacific coastlines from Japan to the United States.

In Peru, authorities sealed off three beaches Monday after they were hit by an oil spill blamed on freak waves caused by the eruption.

The blast severed an undersea communications cable between Tonga and Fiji that operators said would take up to two weeks to repair.

“We’re getting sketchy information, but it looks like the cable has been cut,” Southern Cross Cable Network’s Networks Director Dean Veverka told AFP.

WELLINGTON — Overseas Tongans waited anxiously for news of loved ones on Monday after a volcanic eruption and tsunami severed communications with the Pacific kingdom.

Concerns among the 85,000-strong Tongan community in New Zealand were heightened by news it could be two weeks before communications are restored.

Besides leaving people in the dark about the fate of family, the internet cut threatened to hurt Tongans reliant on money transfers from relatives overseas.

“I think the worst part is the blackout and the fact that we know nothing,” said Filipo Motulalo, a New Zealand-based journalist with Pacific Media Network.

“There is no communication,” he added.

“Our home is among those close to the area that was flooded already so we don’t know how much damage there is.”

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said officials had made satellite contact with the country’s high commission in Nuku’alofa after the powerful Hunga-Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption.

The blast triggered a tsunami that swept Pacific coastlines from Japan to the United States.

New Zealand was informed that there had been no reports of death or injury in the capital, but there was “significant” damage in some areas.

‘Hopeful’ -

“I would say we’re anxious, not fearful,” said the Auckland Tongan Community secretary, Kennedy Maeakafa Fakana’ana’a-ki-Fualu.

“We’re hopeful everyone is alright. We accept there is a problem with the internet but we hope for the best,” he told AFP.

Fakana’ana’a-ki-Fualu, who is arranging for containers of relief supplies to be sent to Tonga, said a cable fault preventing Internet access was a serious issue for families reliant on funds sent by the Tongan community in New Zealand.

“That will be a problem and we will have to look at alternatives,” the community secretary said, adding that he expected the Tongan government, with support from New Zealand and Australia, “will be able to do something to help out”.

Saturday’s powerful eruption was heard as far away as Alaska and Finland and triggered a tsunami that swept through coastal houses in Tonga, damaging infrastructure and dumping boats and boulders on shore.

“We pray God will help our country at this sad moment. We hope everybody is safe,” Maikeli Atiola, the Secretary of the Wesleyan Church of Tonga in Auckland, told Radio New Zealand.

Air New Zealand, meanwhile, has postponed a repatriation flight to Tonga because of the volcanic ash clouds from the eruption.

The flight had been scheduled to leave Auckland this Thursday.

WELLINGTON — A massive volcanic eruption in Tonga that triggered tsunami waves around the Pacific caused "significant damage" to the island nation's capital and smothered it in dust, but the full extent was not apparent with communications still cut off on Sunday.

The eruption on Saturday was so powerful it was recorded around the world, triggering a tsunami that flooded Pacific coastlines from Japan to the United States.

The capital Nuku’alofa suffered “significant” damage, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, adding there had been no reports of injury or death but a full assessment was not yet possible with communication lines down.

“The tsunami has had a significant impact on the foreshore on the northern side of Nuku’alofa with boats and large boulders washed ashore,” Ardern said after contact with the New Zealand embassy in Tonga.

“Nuku’alofa is covered in a thick film of volcanic dust but otherwise conditions are calm and stable.”

Tonga was in need of water supplies, she said: “The ash cloud has caused contamination.”

There has been no word on damage in the outer islands and New Zealand will send an air force reconnaissance aircraft “as soon as atmospheric conditions allow”, the country’s Defence Force tweeted.

“We’re working hard to see how we can assist our Pacific neighbours after the volcanic eruption near Tonga.”

Tonga has also accepted Canberra’s offer to send a surveillance flight, Australia’s foreign office said, adding it is also immediately prepared to supply “critical humanitarian supplies”.

The United States was “deeply concerned for the people of Tonga”, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, pledging support for the island nation.

A 1.2 metre wave swept ashore in the Tongan capital with residents reporting they had fled to higher ground, leaving behind flooded houses, some with structural damage, as small stones and ash fell from the sky.

“It was massive, the ground shook, our house was shaking. It came in waves. My younger brother thought bombs were exploding nearby,” resident Mere Taufa told the Stuff news website on Saturday.

She said water filled their home minutes later and she watched the wall of a neighbouring house collapse.

“We just knew straight away it was a tsunami. Just water gushing into our home,” Taufa said.

“You could just hear screams everywhere, people screaming for safety, for everyone to get to higher ground.”

Tonga’s King Tupou VI was reported to have been evacuated from the Royal Palace in Nuku’alofa and taken by police convoy to a villa well away from the coastline.

Dramatic satellite images showed the long, rumbling eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano spew smoke and ash in the air, with a thunderous roar heard 10,000 kilometres away in Alaska.

The eruption triggered tsunamis across the Pacific with waves of 1.74 metres measured in Chanaral, Chile, more than 10,000 kilometres away, and smaller waves seen along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico.

In California, the city of Santa Cruz was hit by flooding due to a tidal surge generated by the tsunami, videos retweeted by the US National Weather Service showed.

Peru closed 22 ports as a precaution while waves of around 1.2 metres hit along Japan’s Pacific coast.

By 0300 GMT on Sunday, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii said the threat from the eruption had passed.

The US Geological Survey recorded Saturday’s eruption as equivalent to a 5.8-magnitude earthquake at zero depth.

The volcano’s eruption lasted at least eight minutes and sent plumes of gas, ash and smoke several kilometres into the air.

New Zealand scientist Marco Brenna, a senior lecturer at Otago University’s School of Geology, described the impact of the eruption as “relatively mild” but said another eruption with a much bigger impact could not be ruled out.

The eruption was so powerful it was even heard in Alaska, the UAF Geophysical Institute tweeted.

“A part of the pressure signal in Alaska was in the audible range. The very large signal is not that surprising considering the scale of the eruption, but the audible aspect is fairly unique,” it said, citing Alaska Volcano Observatory scientist David Fee.

“He recalls only a couple other volcanic eruptions doing something like this: Krakatau and Novarupta,” it tweeted. This referred to the 19th-century eruption of Indonesia’s Krakatau, and Alaska’s Novarupta, the most powerful volcanic eruption of the 20th century.

The Fife weather station in Scotland tweeted it was “just incredible to think of the power that can send a shockwave around the world” after the eruptions produced a jump in its air pressure graph.

Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai, which lies about 65 kilometres north of Nuku’alofa, has a history of volatility.

In recent years, it breached sea level during a 2009 eruption while in 2015 it spewed so many large rocks and ash into the air that when they settled a new island had formed 2 kilometres long by 1 kilometre wide and 100 metres high.